“Go. Abuse the abundant financial generosity of our beloved newspaper. When you get finished, take a look at the story on the Local page. It seems that one of our black-robed dispensers of justice cut something of a deal for an old buddy caught driving under the influence. It could be time for one of your ever-popular-crime-and-punishment crusaders.”
The criminal mind and journalistic self-esteem of the blemished criminal justice system in the USA are at play in this quote. Whenever journalists like Cowart come across information regarding criminals, they see an opportunity to mint money because they can easily interfere and maneuver to generate illegal money. Martin is aware of the flawed justice system in the US, and he openly makes a joke to rub Cowart's face and remind him of the harsh reality.
"Why don't we editorialize against the weather? We're always trying to influence the heavens, anyway. Maybe they will listen to us this time."
People are manipulative and take advantage of every situation to benefit themselves. For instance, the lead characters in the novel have manipulative traits. However, humans do not influence natural processes, which differentiate God's doings and man's abilities to influence things in life. One circumstance that man has no power to influence is weather patterns. Interestingly, the quote insinuates that if a man could control air, a few powerful individuals would have an absolute say on how much it will cost people t purchase oxygen.
“They are killing me. Used to be slowly, but I’m getting older, so it’s speeding up.”
Despite having prior knowledge of the prevailing danger, human ignorance is self-explanatory. Matty is a character who knows the dangers of smoking from his confession, but he dares to find an excuse to continue smoking cigarettes despite endangering his life. Matty's ignorance is reflected in the justice system and the flawed journalistic practices in the United States. People know well that exhortation and misinformation are bad, but after all, they prioritize monetary gains.
